Scars Are Reminders
by Gakuenchou1
Summary: When Lin receives horrible news about her sister, Suyin who is working under the Triple Threat Triads, who else is there to keep her spirit up? None other than Kya, her best kept secret for two years. A cute, fluffy one-shot that takes place before Korra's time back when Lin is in her 20's.


It stung when she touched the severed flesh on her cheek. Lin Beifong stood there quietly in the mirror as she tended two deep gashes that was accidentally placed on her by her own blood, her own sister, Su. All because of some fucking Triad trash. Betrayal wasn't even the word to describe how she felt about the situation. Lin always thought Suyin had enough potential to even go beyond the stars and moon if she wanted to in anything she wanted, but no. The little sister had to settle for something as low as those street rats. "Ow," she muttered as she lifted took the peroxide and began to cottonball it gently down the pink, bubbly flesh.

"Mom was pretty pissed," she vented to herself. "It wasn't my fault this happened."

The sound of someone clearing their throat made Lin turn on a dime, thinking that she was still on duty when she had been off work hours ago. "Kya." She said in shock The water tribe girl surprised her to say the least. "I forgot you were still here. Look, is this going to take long? I'm tired. Today was stressful and I would just love it if I could have a full eight hours of sleep before I clock back in tomorrow." Kya ignored Lin's nagging and swayed her hips forward to the policewoman. She had became friends with Kya earlier on when she first met Avatar Aang and Katara. At first, Lin was stubborn against Kya's gentle nature, but with time they became really good friends. Really good.

Lin pressed her backed up gripped the corners of the porcelain sink as Kya moved in on personal grounds. "Kya," said Lin again a bit more sternly. Kya seemed almost as calm as the waters themselves. "Let me take a look at that," she suggested as she raised a hand up to Lin's face. The older woman flinched and smacked her hand away quickly before her fingers could graze her skin. "I've been living with you for a while now, Lin. You won't let me even touch you. You're such a mule." The healer couldn't deny that she was aggravated, but all she wanted to do was help. Her partner was stubborn her very core, and she knew very well that Lin wouldn't allow Kya to heal her.

"C'mon I need the practice if I'm going to follow in my mother's footsteps."

Resisting the urge, the metalbender huffed loudly in disdain and turned her back to Kya, leaving the other woman dumbstruck and angered. "Just leave me alone for now." She closed her eyes tightly. She hated it when Kya turned ugly, because it was even more terrifying than when her mother gets into her moods. It was comparable to that. She'd probably do worse when I went all "Air Temple Island" on Tenzin. Lin grimaced inwardly at the faded memory and she felt a nervous knot form in the pit of her stomach. She would have to make up to Kya later, but right now all she wanted was a bit of peace. She heard the door to her bathroom close and new Kya retreated back to the bedroom where she had spent most of her time.

A huge sigh of relief escaped Lin's lips and she continued to fiddle with the peroxide soaked cotton balls. This stung like hell, and she considered apologizing to Kya and have her attempt a healing session, but neither the pain of this hellacious sensation could change the mule's mind for pride had overcame remorse. After she was finished, she placed the peroxide back into the cabinet above the sink and threw the used cotton balls in the trashcan near the toilet. She took the gauze and bandage and tapped it over the marks so no debris could enter the wound and make it worse. She knew it would eventually scar though.

She stepped out into the bedroom and began taking off the metal armor and hanging it neatly in the closet like she had done every night. It was a routine and Lin didn't like change very much. It was probably why she resented Kya in the beginning, but somehow that waterbender girl had wormed her way right into Lin's hardened heart. Lin would go to the edge of the universe and back for this girl, but of course she would never tell her mother that. For Lin, it was a skeleton in the closet that she had to keep secret. She knew her mother wouldn't approve. It was her gut instinct.

As she changed into a pair of sweatpants and a white wife beater, Lin sighed heavily. The silent treatment was already beginning to get at her. "Silent treatment? Really? You've done this before Kya and it didn't work out for you." Lin said as she slipped on a fresh pair of socks and she placed her folded uniform neatly on the chair. Kya didn't say a word or give Lin any sort of acknowledgment of course. Lin couldn't help but think that she was just as stubborn as she was. Kya laid there on her side of the bed, turned away from Lin and looked in the direction of the window. She could see her father's statue from here and began to miss her mother terribly.

She thought it would be nice, to go back home in the Southern Water Tribe. Maybe her mother needed the company since her father was always off doing Avatar stuff. Maybe talking to her mother about Lin would probably do her some good. Lin would kill me if she finds out that my mother knows about us. Well, fuck. I had to tell someone. She felt a spot on the bed sink in and knew Lin had finally came to join her, but Kya still never budged. She heard Lin suck in a short breath of air. She had accidentally laid her head down on the injured side of her face and bolted up-right at the intense feeling.

"AH! FUCK!" Lin shouted. She was so annoyed, she tore off the gauze that covered her wound and threw the material on the floor and fanned the wound with her hand. "Su will pay for this. Of all times to get injured! You'd think I'd be injured just on a job and not from family for once, but today was my lucky day, of course. I killed two birds with one goddamn stone." There was an intense amount of sarcasm in her tone which made Kya fixate her eyes on her other half. She was determined to get Lin to accept her offer on the healing session, but was at a complete loss of how to go about it.

When things settled again, she focused on Lin's eyes. Her father had said they were the windows to anyone's soul. Kya saw that Lin was hurting, and it wasn't just from scars. Her pride had been cut down several feet or two and she wondered what had happened to make Lin look so crestfallen. "I'm sorry," she suddenly heard Lin utter. Kya's eyes widened in surprise. Did she hear the woman correctly? Lin… apologized? "Lin," said the waterbender finally after twenty minutes of silence.

It was 10:30pm now. Republic City was starting to wind down in this late hour, at least for the most part. Kya realized being a cop was probably one of the most stressful jobs in the world, aside from being the Avatar. She could see that Lin was determined to protect the people of this city and losing on this one particular call had shot her down. Being a cop, you were never truly dismissed from your duty day in and day out. It was on your mind all the time Kya could see how much passion Lin had for her career. She admired her, honesty and wished that she could have been a little similar to her in that way.

"No need to apologize," replied Kya. Lin looked over when the woman sat up. "I should be apologizing. Lin, I had no idea until now how important your job is to you. I suppose I had always ignored that. I'm sorry. I should have been a little more sensitive. I can see your in more pain than you realize."

Narrowing her eyes, Lin scratched the back of her head and threw her hands up in the air as if she had been defeated. "What in the hell are you going on about woman?" Lin suddenly spat in question to Kya's infernal babbling. Lin was incredibly confused, but Kya was always one to start mindlessly speaking her mind about something. She allowed her this time, though because she needed the optimism Kya highly possessed. "Lin, I realized how passionate you are about your career. Today, something happened to cause you internal pain. I can see it in your eyes, Lin." The metalbender felt like she had been caught red handed. She felt Kya move closer to her and slip her hand to hers. Kya felt Lin's strong hands grasp her and she interlocked her fingers with hers.

"I took a call today when I overheard on the scanner about the Triads causing trouble," began Lin after taking a shaky breath. "I didn't know who was driving, all I knew is that those people had stolen something and weren't getting away from me." Lin felt Kya place her head gently on her shoulder and made sure not to interact at all with her scars. Lin's job also scared Kya. On any given day, a call that she would receive could turn to shit in seconds, and life-threatening. Kya didn't know if she could handle this, but Lin had been the best thing for her. She would never break the woman's heart like her unruly younger brother did.

"When I caught up to them and going to apprehend their asses, I discovered that none other than my little sister was the driver. She was a culprit! I couldn't believe it."

"What did your mother say about the matter?" Kya asked curiously.

"Mother was furious with us both. I was only trying to do my job, but of course Su gets off easy as always since she's the daughter of Toph Beifong, the Chief of police." Lin's tone switched from an aggravated one to just pure anger. "She fucking let my sister off the hook without any sort of punishment. She always, always ends up getting the better side of mom than I ever did. Su gave me these scars when I tried to arrest her, and she never apologized even for that. I'm done with my family, Kya. I'm just… so tired of the drama." Kya felt genuinely sorry for Lin. All she ever wanted to do was please her mother and still got short end of the stick.

While Lin was sulking with her eyes closed, Kya's eyes shifted to her and as she crept her free hand up to Lin's face, she turned the woman's lips to her and locked theirs together fiercely. Lin's eyes opened when she felt Kya press her lips against hers. This made the policewoman melt against her like heated lava. Kya was consoling Lin? She appreciated that Kya was able to put up with her unlike Tenzin did. Her eyes closed as she dug deeper into the kiss and Kya pried her lips apart ever-so-slightly as invitation for a certain slippery demon.

"You're the only person in this world that I want," whispered Lin as inserted her tongue and allowed it to explore the depths of Kya's tasty mouth. "You're my family." She pulled away suddenly, causing Kya to heave a large sigh in frustration. "Dammit, Lin. Why'd you stop?" She watched the woman for a moment who was acting extremely mischievous. It was unusual to say the least. She could see Lin digging around in the end table next to the bedside as if she was searching for something to show her. Kya tried to get a peek, but Lin was too quick for her. She jerked her shoulders over, blocking Kya's view from what she was seeking.

"I've got something for you."

She didn't know how Kya would react to it, but Lin looked down at what she finally found that meant so much to her and hoped it would for Kya as well. It was a Southern Water Tribe betrothal necklace, one that was carved with symbols of earth and water. "I know it's tradition in your tribe. At least that's what mom said, and so I wanted to do this properly." Kya was the confused one this time. What in the world was this woman planning on doing? She felt Lin release her hand to grab whatever was lying in the drawer and when the other woman held it up to show her, Kya broke.

Her mouth hung open and her stomach filled with so many mixed emotions. She couldn't understand why on earth Lin had been thinking of this when her job should come first. Kya couldn't really think. Her mind started to become heavy with so much though that it almost blinded her. "Kya, would you marry me? I made it, just like the people do in your tribe." Hearing those words made Kya smile from ear to ear and without any second thoughts, she threw her arms around Lin and embraced her with every fiber of her being. "Yes, yes! I will marry you!" She locked lips with Lin, still unsure how to feel. For majority of the part her emotions were a mixture of joy and fear.

"I love you, Lin Beifong." Kya smiled, but then her that expression faded when her eyes landed back on her partner's scars. "I love you too." As Lin positioned herself and Kya laid on her back, she smiled weakly when she watched Lin crawl up her body, her lips sticking to every corner of her body with such passion. This made Kya tremble underneath her and her toes slightly curled from the feeling. "Lin, you're not going to let me heal your scars are you?" Lin shook her head, and came face to face with Kya as she placed her hands on either side of the woman's head and held herself up.

"No. These scars are a going to be a reminder of what was. I need to be reminded how my family treated me. I never want to fall for their kindness or their empathy in the future." Kya continued to stare at Lin and she squeezed the betrothal necklace in her hand tightly. She raised her head, but Lin forced her down with one quick push to the bedspread. For a woman, Lin possessed an intense amount of muscle strength that lit Kya's insides on fire. Lin forced her lips on Kya as their tongues danced, she could feel herself already wanting to beg for it.

The waterbender was half certain she was truly a firebender in disguise whenever she was around Lin. She couldn't help that she had fallen so hard for her, but with knowing how Lin's family is now, Kya couldn't blame her for doing what she had done - - completely abandoning them. It felt like betrayal coming on Chief Beifong's and Su's part. It was settled right then in her mind. She was never going to hurt Lin the same way with her mother and sister did. Hell no. She was going to make sure of that Lin was loved and protected, even if she died trying.


End file.
